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Gorkana has a few final places available at tomorrow’s (23 February) exclusive breakfast briefing with The Sun’s deputy travel editor, Matthew Hampton.
The Sun Travel section is designed to give readers inspiration for where to take their holidays and breaks, and to help them get the best deals when booking them.
It features reviews of destinations, hotels and activities, interviews with important industry figures, travel advice and exclusive offers for package holidays, flights and hotel breaks.
Matt has been deputy travel editor for The Sun since 2012. He started his career at Travel Weekly and, before joining The Sun, wrote for a range of titles including Time Out, Daily Express, Metro and Daily Mail. He also did a two-year stint as editor of Mountain Bike Rider.
The breakfast briefing will take place at The British Medical Association, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JP on Tuesday 23 February at 8:30am (8am arrival).
There are still a few spaces available, so please email [email protected] if you would like to attend.
Interiors company Graham and Green has brought in Cox & Cox’s Kate Vincent as PR and social media manager.
Vincent has been briefed to raise the profile of the Graham and Green brand, with an initial focus on the launch of a new showroom in Bayswater in the Spring, and a new shop in Bath in the Summer.
She will work as part of a six-strong comms team, which is currently in the process of locating to Bath.
Vincent was previously PR and social media manager at Cox & Cox, having first joined the interiors company as a PR assistant in 2011.
Speciality pharma company Allergy Therapeutics has hired Consilium Strategic Communications as its international financial PR and investor relations adviser.
The London-listed pharma company focuses on the treatment of allergic disorders including immunotherapy vaccines.
Mary-Jane Elliott, Chris Gardner, Ivar Milligan, Matthew Neal and Laura Thornton make up the Consilium team advising the client.
Elliott, managing partner at Consilium, said: “We are delighted to be advising Allergy Therapeutics – at a time when it is on a steep growth trajectory due to a strong portfolio of marketed products and M&A. We look forward to accompanying it on its journey as it paves the way to the US market and further international growth.”
Manuel Llobet, Allergy Therapeutics’ CEO, added: “Consilium is Europe’s only specialist healthcare financial communications firm. The team’s expertise and knowledge of the sector is unrivalled and it has already demonstrated this through high quality advice, proactivity and professionalism. We look forward to using its resources to step up international stakeholder activities in order to raise our profile, particularly in the US, in front of both the investor and allergist communities.”
Creative comms group Beattie is to create 30 new jobs across its UK office network, as part of its 30th birthday celebrations.
Founded in 1986 initially as a news agency, it is now an integrated comms and marketing group, with a turnover of £13 million, 100-strong staff and three headline brands: comms consultancy Beattie, student recruitment brand 11ten and the Only series of marketing boutiques.
The 30 new positions, which will include PR specialists, search marketers, affiliate marketing managers, email marketers, Umbraco developers, designers and video makers, will be created across Beattie’s eight UK offices, including its London HQ, Glasgow, Manchester and Leeds.
Laurna Woods, Beattie group MD, (pictured) says she is confident Beattie will push turnover up to £16m and total job numbers up to 130 by the end of 2016.
She said: “There really is no better way to kick off our 30th birthday celebrations than to announce a 30% growth in our staff numbers. This is not PR fluff. We have taken on six new starts since January 1, so we are well on our way to fulfilling our recruitment pledge.”
Beattie will also launch a high tech training academy in its media village in Falkirk, which is set to open in March.
Woods added: “Everyone will undergo at least three days of intensive residential training over the next 12 months. Our aim is to become the UK’s most admired creative communications consultancy within five years. To achieve that goal we need to upskill our people and that includes myself and our senior team.”
Former Claremont director Simon Francis has today launched Campaign Collective, a social enterprise to provide charities and not-for-profit organisations with affordable comms support.
Profits from the new venture will be used to support micro charities and community organisations.
Campaign Collective, which will also support social enterprises, public service organisations and other campaigns, is the brainchild of Francis and two former Claremont consultants, Sarah Colombini and Heather Rogers.
Between them, the trio have more than 30 years’ experience, having worked for the likes of Anchor Care Trust, Apprenticeships, Department for Education, the Edge Foundation, WorldSkills, Royal Voluntary Service, Department for Communities and Local Government and UK Visas and Immigration.
They are joined by an initial network of nine members experienced in a range of communications skills from branding and public affairs to advertising and social marketing, including marketing specialists behind NHS Blood & Transplant, TV Licensing and Royal Mail campaigns. More members are to be announced in the coming months.
Founding clients for Campaign Collective include youth development charity Brathay Trust and the US-based language learning foundation Chinese Character A Day.
Francis said: “The traditional marketing agency set up and fees tend to be out the reach of smaller charities and social enterprises. We wanted to change that. We’ve brought together a group of experienced communications professionals – and ensured access is affordable, nimble and accessible.
Profits from Campaign Collective will be used to subsidise micro charities and community organisations’ campaigns, as well as help develop the next generation of comms professionals through mentoring, advice and training.
Francis added: “As a social enterprise itself, Campaign Collective understands how the not-for-profit sector works and our clients can be confident that we’re not just in it for the money. Any profits we make are put back into helping very small charities and supporting people on the first rung of the PR and marketing ladder.”
Pagefield has appointed Kieran O’Connell, formerly of Tata Steel, as an associate partner in its public affairs team.
O’Connell was public affairs manager at the global steel producer.Previously, he was a senior consultant at Hanover Communications where he worked with clients including Cuadrilla, Three and BlackBerry.
Oliver Foster, managing partner at Pagefield, said: “We are delighted to be adding yet another high quality team member to Pagefield.
“We have always prided ourselves on having a mix of in-house and agency experience and Kieran ticks both those boxes. We know our clients and the wider team here will benefit from his knowledge and understanding of government and some really interesting and challenging sectors.”
O’Connell added: “Over the last few years, Pagefield has quickly built a reputation as one of London’s most successful and laterally-thinking agencies. I am looking forward to starting and working with a very diverse and high profile mix of clients.”
Firstsource, a business process outsourcing company, has hired firstlight to manage its external communications.
The company works with businesses to help improve their customer experience across banking, financial services, healthcare, telecoms and media sectors.
firstlight will help Firstsource showcase its credentials as a valuable business partner across its key sectors, demonstrating how it helps clients adapt to changing consumer, tech and regulatory trends.
Kerrie Markou, global marketing director at Firstsource Solutions, said: “At Firstsource, we are passionate about the relationships we develop with our clients who place such trust us in us to represent them when dealing with their customers. We look forward to working with firstlight to demonstrate the positive impact we can have on brand loyalty and customer satisfaction, as well as our clients’ bottom line.”
Paul Davies, firstlight MD, added: “Firstsource prides itself on being not just a deliverer of process but a valuable business partner capable of solving high level business problems. We understand that establishing brand loyalty and customer satisfaction is a huge part of this and look forward to showcasing the ways Firstsource helps customers achieve these goals.”
Visitor attraction The View from The Shard has appointed Diffusion as its retained PR agency, following a competitive pitch.
Alliance Trust PLC, one of the largest generalist investment trusts in the UK, by market value, is now working with financial PR agency Tulchan following a competitive pitch process.
W has won PR briefs from Trouva, an online store that sells products from independent boutiques across the UK, and luxury yachting publisher Boat International Media.
Lexis has been called in by The Open University to support its ‘Life-changing Learning’ campaign, which aims to promote the impact of studying with the OU and to motivate “people of every age to begin their own learning journey”.
Woodthorpe Comms have been appointed to handle PR activity for Serenity & Grace, a new beauty business.
People News
Bowel cancer research charity Bowel Cancer UK has brought in Gus Baldwin from Leonard Cheshire Disability as director of external affairs.
Chris Blackhurst, a former editor of The Independent, is to join election strategist Lynton Crosby’s political consultancy Crosby Textor Fullbrook (CTF) full-time as a senior executive.
Citigate’s Maria Darby-Walker
Citigate Dewe Rogerson has brought in former FCA head of comms, Maria Darby-Walker, as senior director within its financial team.
Lansons has appointed James Dowling to a newly-created head of public policy role, to strengthen the consultancy’s capability in the public affairs, policy and government relations space.
Interpublic Group agency Golin has acquired transatlantic creative agency The Brooklyn Brothers.
Charli Morgan and Matt Glass, directors of London PR agency The Cult PR have launched a new virtual reality company, Cultural Reality Co., to offer consultancy to journalists, media, PR and marketing businesses.
Comms agency ICG has launched a strategic media offering called Media Task Force. Led by former Metro political editor John Higginson, the team is made up of ex-Daily Mail health editor Jenny Hope and former Independent on Sunday business editor Maggie Pagano.
The Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) has launched PRCA MENA (Middle-East and North Africa) to represent consultancies, in-house teams and individuals across the region.
ReputationInc, an international reputation management consultancy headquartered in London, has opened an office in Norway.
News Analysis
Mobile World Congress helps brands stand out Mobile World Congress (MWC), which will be held in Barcelona next week (22-25 February), is the biggest mobile and tech conference in the world. How do PRs ensure their clients make the most of the opportunity, asks Kaltrina Bylykbashi.
Journalist News
Trinity Mirror will be launch a new national paper called New Day. Priced at 20p or 25p, the title’s expected launch date is 29 February.
Stig Abell, formerly managing editor of The Sun, has been appointed as editor/publisher of The Times Literary Supplement, the weekly literary journal published by News UK.
Becky Lucas, previously online managing editor at Conde Nast Traveller, is now engagement editor at GQ (UK).
The Sunday Times Magazine relaunched with a new look and new features content. Eleanor Mills is editor of the magazine.
Michael Holmes has been appointed head of content & product development at Centaur Home Interest Media Portfolio, including Real Homes, Period Living and Homebuilding & Renovating.
Features
Gorkana meets…Stuff editor Will Dunn In an exclusive breakfast briefing with Gorkana this week, Stuffeditor Will Dunn told PRs how to pitch ideas that fit the tech magazine’s tone of voice, why exclusivity is so important, and, less seriously, when PRs should ignore their bosses’ instructions.
Gorkana meets…International Investment International Investment‘s editor Helen Burggraf (pictured) and editorial director Jonathan Boyd, and deputy editor James Fernyhough, tell us about the “resurrection” of the title under Open Door Media, their symbiotic relationship with PRs and how they cover the issues that matter to the global expat community.
Case Study: Stick Tennis Tour Launch When readers of The Sun opened the paper last Friday, they were met with a challenge to take on games editor Lee Price in a game of Stick Tennis Tour 2.0 that day. Behind the scenes, Stick Sports had briefed PR and marketing agency Dimoso to publicise the launch of its newest game by partnering up with a major press partner. The results? A 666% increase in iOS downloads on the day and 78% of users beat Lee Price at the game.
Behind the Headlines with Telegraph Hill’s Barry Pilling Barry Pilling, founder and creative director at Telegraph Hill, on why he was once known as ‘Lightning’, having to dress up for a pitch and why the new way of doing things may not fit with traditional PR.
In Gorkana’s latest media briefing (18 February), Will Dunn, editor of Stuff, discussed the magazine’s tone of voice and how it values exclusivity, how strong visuals are a top priority for the print magazine and, less seriously, when PRs should ignore their bosses’ instructions.
Dunn also discussed the publication’s place in the competitive tech sector which increasingly attracts the attention of the national press and media. The title holds its own, however, and has a circulation of more than 57,000 in print each month and claims a digital reach of some three million users worldwide via stuff.tv.
Some of the key points and video footage of the event can be found here.
ABE is a professional membership body and recognised exam board, providing further education qualifications in management.
Spreckley will support ABE by leveraging its experience in education and public sectors. It will work with entrepreneurs and business start-ups to raise the organisation’s media profile and share of voice among three groups; further education institutions, young people aged 16 to 21, and fast-growth businesses looking to fill entrepreneurial skills gaps.
The agency will also carry out a thought-leadership project programme for ABE, including an extensive consumer research project, case studies, and media relations.
Gareth Robinson, ABE CEO, said: “Spreckley demonstrated its knowledge behind the key challenges businesses face in meeting their changing skills requirements, as well as the potential to expand the PR programme into regions such as Africa and Asia where our other key markets lie. We have a great story to tell, and we look forward to telling it through Spreckley’s work.”
